1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a splice sleeve for reinforcing bars utilized in concrete wall structures or columns and more particularly to a splice sleeve having a longitudinally elongated shell provided with a cylindrical external surface to enable a sleeve of less diameter to be utilized for application in thinner concrete walls. Also, the less diameter sleeves contribute to an increase in the core ratio of columns and therefore the cross-sectional area of the columns can be comparatively reduced at structural design. The interior surface of the sleeve is provided with annular ridges with the annular space between the interior of the sleeve and the exterior of the reinforcing bars being filled with grouting with the ribs on the bars and the ridges on the sleeve interlocking the bars with the sleeve for fixedly connecting and generally aligning the ends of the reinforcing bars. In one embodiment of the invention, the shell of the sleeve has interior surfaces which taper toward the outer ends with all of the ridges being of the same height in relation to the internal surface whereby the tapered internal surfaces produce a wedging or compression action with respect to the grouting and reinforcing bars. In another embodiment of the invention, the internal surface of the shell is cylindrical and the internal ridges increase in height from the center of the shell toward the outer end to provide the desired wedging or compression action with respect to the grouting thereby fixedly interlocking the shell, grouting and reinforcing bars. In further embodiments of the invention, the sleeve is provided with a wedging action at only one end thereof with the sleeve having a smoothly tapering internal and external surface with the internal surface having ribs of constant height and the external surface having reinforcing flanges or ridges having an external edge forming a continuation of the cylindrical surface of the remainder of the sleeve or the end of the sleeve may be sharply tapered and the remainder of the sleeve being cylindrical both on the internal and external surface with the ridges on the internal surface progressively increasing in height.
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,763 issued Nov. 17, 1970, discloses a splice sleeve and its utility in which the splice sleeve is double frustoconical in configuration with the thickness of the wall being constant and the external surfaces tapering from the center inwardly towards the outer ends. The prior art cited by the Patent Office during prosecution of the application which matured into U.S. Pat. No. 3,540,763, and the following U.S. patents are relevant to this invention:
______________________________________ 277,778 May 15, 1884 518,793 Apr. 14, 1894 1,251,646 Jan. 1, 1918 2,251,189 July 29, 1941 3,033,600 May 8, 1962 3,667,782 June 6, 1972 ______________________________________